The Center for Law Practice Technology, Inc.

The Center's Goals

The Center was founded by Richard S. Granat, a lawyer and legal systems planning consultant to help lawyers and law firms become "digital-lawyers."

We believe that information technology is the foundation for re-engineering law firms to make them both more manageable and profitable. Re-engineering usually is defined as a fundamental rethinking and radical design of critical organizational processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service and speed. We are at the very beginning of a period where the legal profession is re-engineering itself by the creative management of information technology. The Center's mission is to help lawyers and legal service organizations understand the impact of computer technology on the legal system and train them in the skills that are necessary to exploit information technology effectively. Specifically, the Center's goals are to:

• Undertake action research into new models of legal practice which expand the market for legal services by "re-engineering"the way legal services are delivered to clients.
  
• Foster formal education of the legal profession in innovation management through the development of new law school and continuing legal education courses in law firm management and technology.
  
• Demonstrate new modes of delivering legal services to sectors of the public that have been denied access to the legal system because they cannot afford the high cost of today's legal fees.
  
• Foster innovation that enables practicing lawyers to adopt new ways of producing legal services more effectively.